Research Team
Vi is an undergraduate psychology major and an Asian American studies minor. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Spring 2021 :) Her current research interests focus on how factors such as discrimination and racial identity contribute to health profiles among Asian Americans.
Anika Samee
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Jennifer Jang
Jennifer Jang is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology. Jen holds a B.A. in Educational Studies and minor in Anthropology from Emory University and two master's degrees in Counseling. Previously, she worked in two labs at the University of Pennsylvania researching adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and racial socialization and completed a community leadership internship in India. Her research interests focus on Asian American mental health, trauma (e.g., abuse, sexual violence, racial trauma), alcohol use, intersectionality, and clinical interventions for trauma.
Tulasi Venkat
Tulasi Venkat is a undergraduate Senior, double majoring in Psychology and Information Science. Her research interests include creating culturally informed therapeutic interventions, and utilizing/analyzing data to explain factors that influence the mental health of Asian Americans. She is interested in Clinical Psychology where she wants to further explore how specific therapeutic interventions can be created and effectively target racial trauma and other cultural experiences of Asian Americans that influence their mental wellness. While she's not working, she enjoys playing with her dog, going to the gym, and spending time with her friends.
Avipsa Hamal
Avipsa Hamal (she/her) is an undergraduate Junior, pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and Minor in Asian American Studies. Her research interests include culturally competent mental health care and resources for marginalized groups, specifically researching solutions for unique issues pertaining to the South Asian community. Additionally, Avipsa is interested in researching children and adolescent psychology looking at effects of childhood trauma, cultural experiences, and racial adversities. In her free time, Avipsa likes to go to the gym, hang out with friends, go thrifting, go to concerts, and travel!
Mehar Sandhu
Mehar is an undergraduate Public Health major on the pre-med track. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Fall 2024. Her current research interests focus on the intersection between different salient identities and whether religion can be a risk factor for Asian American sexual minorities.
Reanna Talwar
Reanna is a senior at the University of Maryland, studying General Biology with a minor in Asian American Studies. Her research explores body image dissatisfaction among South Asian American women, focusing on how cultural and societal pressures shape mental health within marginalized communities. She joined the lab to build research skills that will support her goal of becoming a physician, where she’s passionate about advocating for inclusive, culturally aware healthcare.
Alumni
Doctoral Students
Thomas Le
Aylin Kaya
Jennifer King
Thomas is a fourth year graduate student in UMD’s Counseling Psychology Doctorate Program. Thomas is interested in research at the intersections of counseling, cultural, and health psychology, with an emphasis on how gender and race influence appetitive behaviors. Specifically, he is interested in feminine and masculine norms, intersectional oppression and resilience, encouraging nurturance within men, and emotion regulation, and how all of these constructs affect disordered eating and alcohol use, especially for marginalized groups.
Aylin is a post doctoral fellow at the University of Delaware's counseling center. Aylin completed her undergraduate education at the College of William and Mary, where she studied psychology and women's studies. Currently, Aylin is pursuing research on various sociocultural factors, particularly conformity to feminine and masculine norms, and how these influence a number of health outcomes. For her master's thesis, she studied the role of feminine and masculine norms in influencing young adult women's alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. She is currently working on her dissertation on masculinity and bystander intervention. She fended her dissertation on masculinity and bystander intervention and subsequently published it in Psychology of Men and Masculinities.
Jen King graduated with her PhD in Counseling Psychology in 2020 and is currently a full-time lecturer at Rider University. Broadly, Jen is interested in examining the intersection of gender-relevant variables, cultural factors, and health disparities among individuals with one or more marginalized identities. She has a particular interest in understanding the compounded effects of racism and sexism on Asian American women's well-being. For her thesis, Jen conducted a qualitative study exploring how gender and race intersect with experiences of disadvantage and inequality to influence Asian American women's body image experiences. For her dissertation, she investigated the racial objectification experiences of Asian American women and how this influences body dissatisfaction and depression.
Postbac Research Assistants
Margaux Grivel
Margaux Grivel managed the Gender, Culture, and Health lab for 2 years, since its inception in 2013. During her time here, she managed three studies and was responsible for IRB submissions, study advertising, participant recruitment and retention efforts, collecting/managing data, handling lab finances, and aiding in manuscript synthesis. Margaux's interests include looking at socio-cultural variables as they relate to risk behavior, namely risky sexual behavior and decision-making. Margaux has also worked closely with Dr.Cristina Risco in the Center for Addiction, Personality and Emotion Research lab at UMD, and aided in synthesizing a meta-analysis looking at correlates of academic outcomes, including career-related self-efficacy, in Latino/a students. Presently, Margaux is earning her Masters in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University, with a concentration research methods and global mental health. Margaux is currently a lab manager in Dr. Lawrence Yang's Global Mental Health, Psychosis, and Stigma lab at NYU, where she is involved in grant writing and manuscript development on several projects pertaining to stigma and mental illness. Under the supervision of Dr. Gary Brucato, Margaux is also involved in research, and the patient evaluation process, through her clinical placement at the Center for Prevention and Evaluation at the New York State Psychiatric Hospital, one of the few clinics worldwide, that collects data on, and treats, individuals with Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome.
Lauren Clinton
Lauren Clinton received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Upon completion, she has served as Faculty Research Assistant and Assistant Project Coordinator to the Gender Culture and Health Lab. During this time, she oversaw and facilitated the production of the Distress Tolerance study, as well as managed participant affairs for the TerpHealth study, assisted with recruitment, finances, data analysis and publication. Additionally, Lauren has worked with undergraduate women in determining influences in drinking behavior. Lauren has a background in Clinical and Social Psychological Research, with a focus on predictors of stereotype threat and in-group bias, as well as Borderline Personality Disorder, risky behaviors, and the motivations behind them. Lauren's interests include the influence of such socio-cognitive factors on interpersonal and intimate relationships, and how these ultimately effect both positive and negative behavior outcomes. While still working closely with the Gender, Culture and Health lab, Lauren is currently earning her Masters in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University, with a concentration in Women, Sexuality and Gender.
Undergrad Research Assistants
Vic Yamasaki
Vic is a graduate of the University of Maryland majoring in Psychology. As an immigrant of mixed heritage, Vic is interested in how cultural definitions of femininity and masculinity impact individual and group health outcomes in minority populations. They joined the lab with the intent of furthering their research experience, and to work with projects that reflect their interests in the field of social psychology. In the future they hope to use their research background to work with disadvantaged communities, both in the US and abroad, in order to establish policies to improve the psychological well being of these populations
Athena Park
Athena is a recent University of Maryland graduate, where she received her B.S. in Psychology. Athena began her position as a research assistant in Dr. Derek Iwamoto’s Gender, Culture and Health Lab in May 2015. Athena hopes to pursue graduate studies in the field of clinical psychology, and is especially interested in examining psychopathology among ethnic minority populations.
Lauren Fox
Lauren received a Bachelor's Degree in Music and a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychological Science at University of Maryland, College Park, and began working with the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in 2015. Lauren has been involved in the lab's research projects involving substance use, gender roles, and ethnicity, with a specific focus on emerging research into e-cigarette use. Lauren is currently pursuing her PhD as a first year graduate student in University of Tennessee's Clinical Psychology doctoral program. At UTK, Lauren is part of Dr. Todd Moore's lab, which focuses on such subjects as substance use, intimate partner violence, and gender role stress.
Marcus Moorhead
Marcus recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Psychology. He joined Dr. Derek Iwamoto's Gender, Culture and Health Lab in 2015. Marcus is currently pursuing his Master's of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. He hopes to conduct research examining ethnic minority populations attitudes and responses to counseling, in order to reduce stigma and facilitate increasing mental health awareness.
Christine Cook
Christine Cook was an undergraduate Research Assistant from May 2014 to May 2015. She graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2015 with a B.S. in Psychology and minor in Spanish Language and Culture. Christine assisted with the recruitment and payment of participants for the TerpHealth study. She also examined specific factors related to college dating violence. More specifically, she examined the relationship between media consumption, feminine norms, and attitudes and victimization of dating violence. Christine plans to pursue graduate studies in the field of counseling psychology.
Samiha Islam
Samiha graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2017 with a double degree in Psychology and Family Science and a minor in Statistics. She began working in the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in 2016. Samiha's research interests broadly revolve around exploring mental health disparities between racial groups. She is particularly interested in examining how racial minority children are uniquely impacted by psychopathology. For her undergraduate honors thesis, Samiha studied risk factors predicting psychological distress and well-being among South Asian Americans. Currently, she is a faculty research assistant in Dr. Alex Shackman's Affective & Translational Neuroscience Lab at the University of Maryland. Samiha plans to pursue graduate studies in the field of Clinical Psychology.
Ilana Levin
Ilana Levin recently received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland. Beginning in her senior year, up to now, Ilana is a Research Assistant in the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab. She is currently working on a project that examines perceived discrimination and religious lenses and how they impact well-being and distress in a Jewish population. Broadly, Ilana is interested in how feminine and masculine norms impact individuals' well-being, the link between addictions and various aspects of an individual’s life, the link between physical health and mental health, as well as what makes different groups of individuals resilient in the face of various challenges. She is particularly interested in how these topics vary between individuals of various socioeconomic statuses, cultures, genders, and ages.
Toria Hawkins
Toria Hawkins is a current graduate student attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore as well as Johns Hopkins University, where she is pursuing a dual master’s degree in social work and public health. As an alumni of the University of Maryland, College Park, she sustains her affiliation to this university as both a research in Dr. Iwamoto’s Gender, Culture, and Health Lab, and a teaching assistant for the university’s Psychology Research Empowerment Program. Toria’s research interests include identity-related risk and resistance factors. Specifically, she is interested in the influence that cultural identity has on how individuals view their health, seek treatment, and report their symptomatology. Toria ultimately plans to pursue her doctorate degree in clinical psychology and conduct post-doctoral clinical research, using participants who are culturally representative of the global population, in order to advocate for cultural humility and evidence-based health policy.
Linda Kuo
Linda graduated from the University of Maryland with a double degree in public health science and american studies in May 2020. Linda is interested in the intersections between health, research, and activism especially in regards to marginalized populations in the Asian American, queer, and disabled communities. She aims to approach healing and resistance in an effective and sustainable way. Linda worked in the lab from 2017 to her graduation from UMD. Her first-author research on LGBTQ Asian Americans, resistance, and K-Pop fandom is forthcoming in the Journal of Homosexuality.
Taylor Brooks
As a first-generation college student, I aspire to use my education to study and assist the psychological health of disadvantaged and minority communities, while focusing on race and gender relations. Currently, Dr. Iwamoto and I are developing a study analyzing mental health and substance usage among Hmong and Asian Americans.
Sandra Chijioke
Currently studying behavior and community health and psychology with a minor in health, humanities and medicine. Unsure what the future holds but is sure in making a positive change someway somehow! She is interested in studying and researching the adversities minority women face on college campuses and how that translate in their daily lives.
Simone Perez-Garcia
Simone graduated from the University of Maryland in December 2019, after working as a research assistant in the Gender, Culture, and Health lab as a research assistant beginning in Fall 2018. Simone is interested in and has experience working with people and families who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence, whose needs are not being met to their fullest systematically and systemically. She is also interested in studying the experiences and health outcomes of racially marginalized, LGBTQ+ communities. Simone plans to pursue a Masters in Social Work after graduation.
Vi Le
Vi is an undergraduate psychology major and an Asian American studies minor. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Spring 2021 :) Her current research interests focus on how factors such as discrimination and racial identity contribute to health profiles among Asian Americans.
Leena Singh
Leena is an undergraduate junior at the University of Maryland majoring in psychology and biology. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health lab in Spring 2021 to further study intersectionality. Her research focuses on the dual weight/pressures of racism and sexism faced by Asian American women, and the repercussions/effects of such on their mental health and binge drinking patterns/behaviours. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue a career in medicine serving marginalized communities using her background in psychology to provide a more holistic approach to aide healing and coping.
M Pease
M is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park majoring in psychology with minors in Asian American studies, neuroscience, and public leadership. They have worked in the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab since 2019. M's research interests broadly include race, gender, and LGBTQ+ identities and how structures and experiences of oppression contribute to mental health disparities. They are also a teaching assistant for Dr. Iwamoto's Asian American Psychology course. Outside of research, they are involved in the UMD Senate, Help Center, and Department of Resident Life. M is applying during the current cycle to PhD programs in counseling psychology.
Maddy Pekosz
Maddy graduated with a double degree in Psychology and in Family Science at the University of Maryland in May 2020. She began working as a research assistant in the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Fall 2017. Her research interests include studying gender roles and cultural ideas of masculinity and femininity, as well as ideas of feminism in varying cultures. She would like to study health disparities regarding gender and racial differences, and has a specific interest in effects of sexism in varying contexts of public health. Maddy plans to pursue graduate studies in an undetermined field of psychology.
Lily Jin
Lily is an undergraduate Senior studying Psychology. She recently joined the Gender, Culture, and Health lab, and has also been working as a Research Assistant in the Maryland Psychotherapy Clinic. She's interested in studying mental health outcomes among Asian Americans. After undergrad, she plans to get a PhD in counseling psychology to become a therapist.
Amber Kaiser
Amber is an undergraduate senior at the University of Maryland majoring in Psychology and Criminology & Criminal Justice. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Spring 2021. Amber is currently working on an independent study under the mentorship of Dr. Iwamoto to see how COVID-19 related stressors, racial identity, and gender socialization affected the mental health of African Americans. Her research interests include disparities in mental health outcomes of African Americans. After graduation, Amber plans to pursue a PhD in counseling psychology.
Lindsey Burke
Lindsey is currently a senior at the University of Maryland and pursuing a degree in Psychology. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Fall 2018 to further expand her research experience and learn all that she can. Her interest in Psychology is focused on diversity, the intersection of identities, and multicultural issues specifically in communities of marginalized groups. Lindsey plans to pursue a graduate degree in a cross-cultural field of Psychology.
Ben Bradshaw
Ben graduated from the University of Maryland college park, with a degree in Psychology. He joined the Gender, Culture and Health Lab as a research assistant in fall 2019. Ben is interested in studying identity development and identity management in people from marginalized or understudied populations, including multiracial people, first generation Americans and queer people of color. After graduation, Ben would like to pursue a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology.
Allison Seo
Allison Seo graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Psychology and Minor in Asian American Studies in May 2021. She has worked as a Teaching Assistant for the Asian American Psychology during the Spring 2021 semester and is currently working on a project under the Gender, Culture, and Health lab that investigates how gendered and racial expectations of Asian American women may cause increased psychological distress through guilt and shame. She is passionate about advocating for the Asian American community by researching risk factors such as socialization, stereotypes, and stigma that may cause marginalized groups to experience psychological distress and negative mental health outcomes. Allison hopes to pursue graduate studies in Counseling Psychology.
Anika Samee
Anika is an undergraduate junior Neurobiology and Physiology major at the University of Maryland. She joined the Gender, Culture, and Health Lab in Fall 2019 to learn more about how research works in a psychology lab. She is specifically interested in studying minority communities and the complex health issues that affect them. As a pre-dental student, Anika hopes to expand the availability of healthcare within marginalized populations.